best surf and slalom boat?
 

I have been told the new Malibu VTX is the best option...any other models/years to consider?

Do i have to go with a v-drive, any direct drive options worth considering?

How bout, “what’s the best square peg for a round hole?”

Lol. i know i know. realize it's an oxymoron. I am not a course skier BUT..don't want a wake that is going to limit my slalom progression. Any thoughts would be appreciated.

Tige RZR would be great at both. Better at surf than slalom, but could accomplish both and leave you and the family smiling ear to ear at the end of the day.

if new, you'd be searching for a Tige R20, and could option it to suit your needs.

Cheers.

Supra SR may be a good option as well.

Good Luck!!!

Malibu VTX
MasterCraft XT20, or XT21
Nautique GS20
Maybe also the Moomba Mondo and Supra SR

If you want the best balance of a "jack of all trades" boat, you will want to stick to 20-21 foot size range, and avoid boats with deeper v's/more deadrise.

You cant hide the weight of the bigger boats, and you cant hide the bigger bump from the deeper v boats.

Any of the direct drive options don't have enough freeboard. They are too low to safely load up with todays standards for surf boat weights.

Your best option is 2 boats! Buy a 2014-15 23 LSV (or equivalent), and a 2005 Prostar (or equivalent).

Either one of these. The Centurion Fi and Ri are nothing to sneeze at when it comes to crossover boats. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uONkS2qHZTk&t=929s

I don’t know if it gets better than a GS22....[emoji41]

https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=gCg-F0BO3ZM

Not to many boats will slalom and surf well but there is a few . My first choice would be SANGER V215. Big enough to surf small enough for nice slalom wake as well . Handles way better then anything else in the same category when just having fun.

As others have said, staying in the 20-21' range will be your best bet. I'd be looking for the boat in that size range with a flatter hull design (Supra SR, Malibu VTX, MC XT20/21) that packs the most ballast. Hull design is going to be key for getting the ski wake you want, but the amount of ballast you have is what will mostly determine how happy you are with the surf wake. Not saying hull design isn't important for surf too, but displacement (ballast) trumps everything when it comes to surf. Hope this is helpful. Good luck and be sure to ski and surf them all!

How big of a boat are you wanting? Three Tige models that I would look into would be the RZR/R20 and the RZX2.

If you are able to, I would recommend doing a demo on a Tige RZX2. I have taken a few people out and they have been really impressed by it's ability to ski and surf so well.

Not the best video of someone skiing behind one, but at least it will give you an idea.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=E0fzMpzgFLs

What’s the best round peg for a square hole?

A Chevy pickup’s wheel wells

Nautique GS22. Better slalom wake than the 20 and surf able right off of the showroom floor. Add pro ballast it and it'll make it a bit better. Cant beat the Nautique fit and finish.

Sanger V215

^ This

This boat doesn't surf for ****. its awful. Great for wake boarding and Skiing.

without knowing your complete budget and situation, my adivice is this: With the resale price of direct drives being low buy a boat for the course and another for surfing. You mentioned progression and that isn't possible behind a boat that surfs. They require two completely different running surfaces. If it has to be an all in 1 solution i'd give up skiing and surfing and just wakeboard.

X2 on that! Specifically the Fi. The Ri doesn’t come with a ski pylon which in my opinion kinda takes it out.

gnarly topic

Two boats

tried to edit my post but waited too long. DO NOT buy a Sanger V215 if you want to surf. Owned that boat and it doesn't surf worth $hit. The stock 2500 LBS isnt near enough for a surfable wake. it took a Surfgate and about 4000lbs to get it to surf and at that point you are dealing with not a lot of freeboard and wallowing pig.

Ummmmm are you sure about that?

My bad I re read your post fi comes with a ski pylon the ri does not. Fi will be better than ri because of less weight and draft

I had the same search last year and after a lot of demos and research, there is a 2019 gs22 in my garage. It’s not the best at any one thing but it is the best overall boat for my family. The dealership had a big role in the decision as well.

My dealer claims the gs20 and gs22 slalom wake is almost identical. Curious if you ski’d both and would have an unbiased opinion on that? Im currently in an ‘08 Malibu Vtx.

Very similar. Size needs was a big part of our decision. The gs22 seemed to have a little softer wake at 30mph but was still pretty firm, small lip but definitely firm. I also had a chance to demo an ‘18 VTX and the wake was softer than the gs but also bigger. It had a larger table and was more intimidating to cross. I’m sure a large part of that is mental. I have heard that the ‘19 VTX is better, for us a 20’ boat just wasn’t in the cards. The gs22 also has more surf potential than the gs20. With an extra 1000lbs it’s surf wave really starts to build up.
We also considered a 2 boat option but unless you live on the water that just seemed daunting and silly.

haha! Yup!